Keys to the game, players to watch and a prediction for Saturday’s Louisville-NC State game:

Offensive keys

1. Big-play receivers: Louisville’s touted receivers, especially senior Jaylen Smith, know they’re running out of time to make good on lofty projections for this season. And they have an opportunity this week: NC State’s pass defense has been porous, ranking 129th in the Football Bowl Subdivision with 305.3 yards allowed per game. As much as Louisville has struggled, it’s time to open things up and see if the best players can make some plays.

2. Stick with Puma: Because now-ousted coach Bobby Petrino changed quarterbacks so frequently in the first 10 games, quarterback Jawon Pass has never looked comfortable. Perhaps this week could be a fresh start for Pass. He seems likely to start again, and he gives Louisville the best chance with his arm. The last two games are all about finding something to build on for next season. A confident quarterback would be a huge step.

3. Trick plays? What does Louisville have to lose? Co-offensive coordinator Lonnie Galloway has taken over the play-calling duties from Petrino. The Cardinals really haven’t opened up the playbook much this season. They have the athletes to do it. Do they somehow utilize Pass and Malik Cunningham on the same play? Do they have former high school quarterback Tutu Atwell throw it? It’s all set up for the offense to have some fun.

Defensive keys

1. Simplify: Louisville has faced the following types of offenses in the past five games: triple-option offense, no-huddle offense, no-huddle offense, Clemson, no-huddle offense. NC State is productive, but the Wolfpack don’t do what those teams do to make the defense uncomfortable. Louisville has floundered in its inability to make in-game adjustments. Simplifying the defense and being more aggressive would be a good start.

2. Pressure the quarterback: For Louisville fans, the tough part of watching last year’s disappointing 39-25 loss at NC State was that the Cards couldn’t bring any pressure, allowing Ryan Finley to sit back, carve up the defense and neutralize Lamar Jackson. To be more successful this year, Louisville must rush Finley — one of the best pocket passers in the country — and force him to make mistakes.

3. Press coverage: NC State makes its money by getting into third-and-short situations, isolating receivers Kelvin Harmon and Jakobi Meyers on the outside and throwing short passes to them at the first-down marker. Harmon and Meyers rank first and third in the ACC in receiving yards per game, a big reason why NC State is 10th in the country in third-down conversion rate. Louisville is tied for 128th in third-down defense, a gap the Cards will have to bridge in order to stop the Wolfpack.

Players to watch

Ryan Finley: Louisville has to deal with Finley one more time before the sixth-year senior heads off to the NFL. He leads the ACC and ranks sixth in the nation with 318.2 passing yards per game, and he’s such an effective catalyst for this NC State offense. Without a consistent rushing attack, Finley has been asked to do a lot, and he manages the game well. He’s completing a career-high 67.7 percent of his passes.

Germaine Pratt: Bradley Chubb and the rest of NC State’s dominant pass rushers from last season left for the NFL, but Pratt has been a star in the middle of the defense. He ranks second in the ACC with 91 tackles and also has 5.5 sacks, five quarterback pressures and two pass breakups. In a big game against Boston College on Oct. 6, with the Eagles about to trim a 28-3 deficit to 28-17 in the fourth quarter, Pratt stripped and recovered the ball on the 2-yard line. Louisville has to keep its offense away from him as much as possible.

Prediction: NC State 38, Louisville 37

Teams with interim coaches go in one of two directions, and it’s very tempting to pick Louisville to pull off this upset, as much as the Cards have transformed their approach this week. Maybe a new beginning was what this team needed. It looks like Louisville will play hard, will believe and will have nothing to lose. It’s not clear whether that will be enough for a team so far behind the rest of the ACC this season.